


Can't You See? [Wirt x Reader]

by misho



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Crushing on Wirt, F/M, You join them on their journey!, changing up the storyline a bit to fit, funny dialogue, you're a witty pothead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 14:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16306895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misho/pseuds/misho
Summary: Halloween was supposed to be fun, until you worriedly tumbled into the Unknown with Wirt and Greg. Being Wirt's best friend, you help him on his journey back home, but will you spill your secret crush, or will it stay unsaid?





	1. The Exposition

“Wirt!” You cried out, chasing after him. Your heart was pounding loudly in your chest as you relied on solely adrenaline to keep you moving. You were hanging out with Jason, Sara, Wirt, Greg, and some others in a graveyard, but the police showed up. Sirens blaring in your ears, you couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of your blood once the sirens faded into white noise. “Wait, stop!” You screamed again, but the police were filtering into the graveyard. You knew it was a bad idea to sneak into it during night, when visiting hours were over.

Up ahead, you saw Wirt and his brother begin to scale a wall. You waved your arms as a police car shone the headlights on you. You whirled on your foot, feeling your nerves cause you to freeze. You couldn’t stop now, though! You had to keep up with Wirt. Dusting your red skirt down, you turned and began to sprint toward the wall too.

Wirt had been your best friend ever since preschool. You had stood by his side for as long as you can remember, helping him out through even the darkest times of his life. You were never hesitant in being there for him. To watch him avoid the police and hop over a wall without you, though, made you think for a moment. _Maybe he doesn’t… care?_

Shaking your head, you had to follow them. You knew for a fact Wirt was a pussy and you just had to stay on his trail, you’d be fine. Unless he got lost, then you’d have no clue where to go. Your sense of direction was just as terrible as everyone else’s. You reached the stone wall, gripping the vines and using the tree to stabilize yourself.

“Get down from there!” A police officer said, opening his car door. You turned to look at him, frowning, and you heaved yourself over the wall. You saw Wirt and his little brother on a set of train tracks. You almost leapt over the wall until you heard a loud horn sounding nearby. As if the world slowed down, you saw the beaming headlights of a train oncoming Wirt and Greg. Gasping in fear, you screamed in the highest pitch.

“Wirt!”

Distracted, Wirt turned to look at you. He must’ve finally noticed you, sitting atop the wall with tears balled in your eyes. Before anyone moved, you quickly covered your eyes, tumbling from the train’s distance, and you fell backwards into the graveyard. You groaned in pain, sitting up. The police officer grabbed your arm, helping you up. Struggling against him, you bawled grossly.

“My friends!-” You sobbed, shaking your head. “T-They got hit by the train!”

“What?” The officer frowned, listening to the train. He looked back down at you, hauling you up and into the back of his vehicle. “I’ll go check, then I’m taking you home.” He then waited for the train to pass. You didn’t want to inch yourself deeper in the shit you already were in, so you sat silently in the car and watched the officer scale the wall, hop over it, and disappear behind it.

You sat there for five minutes, impatient, until the officer returned over the wall with a sour expression. He got into the drivers side of the vehicle, starting it up. As he backed up, he began to follow the road out.

“There was nothing there.” He sternly said. “You know, you can get in a lot of trouble for lying to a police officer.”

“W-What?!” You stammered in disbelief, “but you saw them go behind the wall, too! They were on the train tracks!”

“They probably ran off back home. I’m done with the wild goose chases for tonight. I’m taking you home.”

You sighed, slumping in the seat. You had to tell the officer your name and address, and he began to drive you home. All the while, you just listened and sat in the silence, remembering Wirt’s panicked expression before you had fallen.

When you got home, returned to your parents, they were pissed at you. They sentenced you to being grounded for two weeks and you said you were going to bed. Rushing into your room, you slammed and locked the door. Falling down, you cradled your head in your hands. You wanted to so desperately believe they were okay, but you couldn’t be for certain. Rushing to your nightstand, you picked up your phone that you had left behind. Dialing a number, you held it close to your ear and listened to it ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Wirt’s mom,” You sighed, “it’s Y/N. Are Wirt and Greg home?”

“Ah, hi Y/N. They aren’t yet. Weren’t they supposed to be with you? What happened?”

_I can’t tell her what happened! I’ll just have to hope they’ll be home soon...._

“Oh, we just split up. Wirt said he was going to take Greg to a couple more houses, I was just curious. Don’t worry about it.” You smiled, as if she could see it. You heard her chortle a little bit, knowing that she was thinking about her sons.

“Alright. And, Y/N?”

“Yes?” You asked, staring out your window.

“You should come over tomorrow, Wirt would really love to hang out.”

You smiled to yourself, but it felt bitter. You swore Wirt that had gotten hit by the train, but you didn’t say anything. It was actually wholesome to feel that Wirt actually wanted to hang out with you, but recently it’s been more and more painful to actually do so. You knew his crush on Sara and the tapes he makes for her, but you simply choose to stay quiet.

“Yes ma’am.” You laughed. “I’ll talk to my parents about it. I’ll see you later, bye!”

You hung up, sighing. Your little red riding hood outfit had come with pockets--actually, you made it with pockets-- and you used them to your advantage. You took some necessary items such as your phone, a pocket knife, and the lighter that you use for the marijuana stuffed in a box under your bed. You turned to look at the locked door, frowning, then you opened your window slowly. Crawling out, you landed on a bush and situated yourself before running back the way you came.

You had to find out where they went. You had to see it for yourself. You saw late night trick-or-treaters roaming about and none of them were Wirt or Greg. Feeling concern sink in like a snake bite, you began to jog and then race to the graveyard where you saw them last. You knew that they had to be nearby, somewhere! Wirt didn’t have his own phone, so it wasn’t like you could just call him. Hell, he was too hipster for his own good. Owning vintage cassette players and whatnot instead of a mobile phone. You often caught yourself teasing him for asking for the weirdest things during Christmas, and now was a perfect situation to justify that. He didn’t have a phone, so you couldn’t call him directly.

You panted, chasing after the thought of Wirt or Greg being hurt. You knew you had to do something, but you had no idea what you’d do if they had just mysteriously disappeared. You reached the closed graveyard gate and climbed over it, trying not to clamor and alert nearby police. Carefully, you dropped back down, and ran as fast as you could to the wall.

You passed by grave after grave, getting the chills each time you thought about how there were hundreds of dead people buried below your passing feet. You saw the wall in the distance and readied yourself, launching at the tree. You used it to furiously climb over, then you balanced atop the wall yet again. Peering over, you saw that there was no evidence anyone had been there. You dropped down, nearly hurting yourself again, but you landed on your padded skirt. Standing to your feet, you dusted yourself off cautiously before you inspected the tracks up close.

“They had to have been here.” You whispered to yourself, pulling your hood back around your neck. You leaned over, looking at the old rails, and seeing a small piece of candy wedged under a wooden plank. You took it, seeing the shiny blue wrapper in the illuminated midnight.

“That’s it. They _were_ here, but where could they have gone?”

There was no evidence of limbs or blood on the tracks, so they definitely weren’t hit by the train. Relief flooded throughout you, but you didn’t allow yourself to put your guard down just yet. You pocketed the candy, looking around. You knew that a train wouldn’t come for at least hours, since once had already passed recently.

“Wirt? Greg?” You called out tediously, your voice hardly above a whisper. You looked at the hill that’s steep and faded into a void, feeling uneasy. Suddenly, you saw something that almost sent you flying. You saw rough patches where the grass was tussled with, torn up, and even dug up. Sudden realization came to you. _They fell down the hill._

Shaking, you had no idea if they were dead or alive. You didn’t know if you should call for help or not. But, you tried to take a step away, twisting your ankle. Your boot was jammed under a wooden plank, tugging on it relentlessly. You squeaked in fear, losing your balance and tumbling backwards. Your boot came out easily due to the mud, but you collided with the hill and began to roll. Feeling sharp rocks jab you in multiple areas, you cried out in guttural pain. You couldn’t even form words, only feeling nothing but horror as you began to black out due to the harshness of being thrown violently down a hill. Before you could completely pass out, your body smacked into freezing water, and suddenly the world around you faded fast.


	2. The Unknown

You woke up in a dim place, but you almost blamed it on your terrible eyesight from waking up so suddenly. You rubbed them wearily, but the scene didn’t change from the unsaturated woods. Circling you, it was complete darkness, and you couldn’t hear a thing besides your own heartbeat.

“Hello?” You said, your voice echoing and bouncing off of the tree trunks. The broken, damaged, dead limbs lumbered over you and waved in a chilling breeze. You shivered, cradling your arms, and you stepped around. At your boots, there was a muddy riverbank, and the water was pitch black and whirling endlessly. Swallowing, you stepped away, looking around yet again to try and gain more of your surroundings. “Anyone there?” You asked again, but there was no response except for the occasional hoot of a nearby owl.

You decided talking wasn’t the brightest choice. You had no idea what was in these very woods, so you just simply began to walk. Were Wirt and Greg nearby? You wanted to call out their names, but you knew that if you got too loud, something might jump you. So, staying silent, you followed a row of trees into the forest. It was getting harder to see, the moon hardly visible through the leafless and winding branches. You didn’t want to be poetic since it was Wirt’s thing, but you felt like you were walking through an endless void, a target for a hungry animal.

Had you washed up off the shore? You couldn’t exactly remember what had happened before you came here, but you knew you had to get back home. You pulled out your phone from your pocket, pressing the home button, but the screen was completely black. You attempted to hold down the lock button, but it wouldn’t even tell you if it was dead. Sighing at the useless object, you shoved it safely back into your pocket and continued on your way.

You must’ve gotten lost, but the fog seemed to be clearing up by now, which was better. You heard the trees above you creak with age and you rushed yourself, walking faster. Your foot got caught on a root and you fell to your hands and knees, gasping as the wind was knocked out of you. Blinking your eyes open, you saw something strange nestled in the mud.

_Candy?_

It must’ve been Greg! You shot straight up, feeling a sense of determination. At this point, you didn’t even care about being loud.

“Wirt! Greg!” You shouted at the top of your lungs, cupping your hands over your mouth to make your voice stronger. You picked up the candy and began to run, seeing occasional drops of red, blue, and yellow wrappers. You heard a distant snarling and you slowed your pace, rounding the corner of a tree and peering out. You saw a dog, bent low, growling at a turtle with a pretty blue candy sitting atop its shell. You ran up once you noticed the dog was threatening to eat the turtle, and you picked the candy off of the shell. The dog’s eyes turned toward you and it began to pant and wag its tail in excitement. You blinked and unwrapped the candy, tossing it to him. He gulped it down quickly. You continued to follow the trail, and the dog followed you. You were glad to have made a friend on the way, you felt a lot less lonesome.

The trail was getting a lot thicker, and less sparse. You quickened your pace, chasing after it in a desperate attempt to find your friends. Up ahead, you saw a riverbank and a grist mill, watching the candy disappear behind the front door. Now, you caught yourself running like you never had before. The wind knocked the hood back down around your collar and you didn’t care, you slammed the front door open.

“AHH!” Screamed two voices, and the scene was suddenly a warm hazy color for you. You rubbed your eyes, seeing two very familiar faces. Dropping all of the candy on the floor, you raced to Wirt, smiling.

“Wirt!”

“Y/N?” He stammered, embracing you in a hug. “W-What’s going on?”

“I’m so glad I found you! I’ve been so lost.” You sighed, and suddenly a larger man barged through the side door, his hat crooked.

“What’s the commotion in here?” He demanded, and you faced him.

“This is our friend, Y/N.” Greg said happily, bouncing up to you. The dog laid by the fire, letting out an exhausted sigh. The woodsman glared at the three of you and then shut the door again, going back to whatever he was doing.

“I mean-- how did you find us?” Wirt asked. “Where’s the others?”

“Others?” You tilted your head. “I’m the only one here. I actually… don’t know how I found you. I don’t remember much, but I think I fell into a river.”

“That sounds like us!” Greg nodded. “Now-- oh, where did that frog o'mine go?” He hummed, patting his chin before walking out the front door. Wirt didn’t seem to show much care.

“This is bad. Really bad. We need to get home.” Wirt said with a sigh, plopping down on the fainting couch.

“Don’t worry, Wirt. We’ll get home soon.” You assured him, sitting down beside him. “Besides, I don’t feel like going home.” You added sadly, keeping your voice lowered. He almost didn’t catch it, but he shot you an understanding glance. “For now, let’s stay the night.”

“S-Seriously? Have you seen the woodsman? He’s creepy!” Wirt complained and you rolled your eyes.

“So what? I’m sure he has a warm bed. If you think we’re travelling around in the dark, then you’re wrong.” You said, crossing your arms. “I’m definitely not going back out there.”

Wirt didn’t reply to that subject, instead his attention was drawn to the sleeping dog. “Who’s dog is that?”

“No clue. He was eating Greg’s candy trail, but I began to pick them up and he just sorta followed me here.”

“Are dogs supposed to have candy?” Wirt looked worriedly at you and you shrugged.

“He seems fine.”

Greg re-entered with his giant frog that was nearly the size of his entire torso, and so did the woodsman. You politely asked him about a spare room and he nodded, saying there was only one upstairs, but it should be big enough. So, you took the boys upstairs into the spare room and opened the door to the dusty room. Greg happily jumped on the bed, and you told him strictly to take his shoes off and the kettle on his head. Wirt did the same with his hat and his shoes. Greg climbed under the blankets and you sat by the window, staring out.

“Are you not going to sleep?” Wirt asked, and you shook your head.

“It’s best to take watch, right? That’s what they always do in zombie apocalypse shows. I’ll wake you up in a couple hours and it’ll be your turn.”

“O-Okay.” Wirt nodded, laying down in bed. You wanted to audibly sigh. You were so obviously tired, but he was a stupid boy that took everything serious. A _real_ gentleman would offer to take the first watch, but you guessed he was just as tired as you were. You yawned, pulling the pocket knife out of your skirt pocket and placing it neatly on the windowsill.

What did you see in him, anyways? He was your best friend ever since you could remember, but he’s this nerdy hipster. He’s nothing like the jocks that have passed your mind countless times, and he’s nothing like the many celebrities you’ve had a thing for. So why did you choose to have a crush on him? Even when he blatantly expressed his crush on Sara, you agreed to help set him up with her so that he would be happy. You gave up your own happiness for his. And, just similar to this time now, you were sacrificing your own personal needs and wants so that he would benefit from it. You didn’t want to stay awake, you wanted to sleep peacefully in a warm cozy bed. Especially from how cold it was outside. You wanted to be selfish, but you didn’t allow yourself to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It keeps putting the red line under Wirt's name :(


	3. The New Addition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: omg so sorry I missed out on publishing this chapter? I got MAJOR writer's block on this fic and had to take a (long) break :(  
> but now I'm back and I've got some ideas! very excited for this! ^^

Throughout the night, you took turns watching and sleeping. Wirt seemed to hold back his complaints, which you were extremely thankful for. When it was morning, Wirt shook your shoulder gently. You rolled over, hugging Greg close, who protested loudly in your costume. You groaned, opening your eyes.

“I’m trapped!” Greg cried, and you fastened your arms tighter around him playfully.

“You’ll never get free, silly Gregory! This is the Y/N trap!”

“Noooo!” He laughed, and you let go of him. He sat up, and Wirt was restraining his chuckles. Wirt ruffled his hair, and Greg flattened it as he placed his kettle back on. You rose an eyebrow questioningly as you were about to ask the reason of the kitchen item, but you left the question for another time. Standing to your feet, you moved your dress back in place and carefully placed your hood over your hair, strapping your boots on.

“Alright, let’s go.” You stated finally, ready to leave.

“W-What about the woodsman? We’re just leaving him?” Wirt stammered, pulling at his cloak.

“Well, yeah. He’s been kind to show us hospitality, but I don’t intend on staying longer than I need to. We need to get home.” You reasoned, rolling your eyes.

“I mean, I guess.” Wirt shrugged his shoulders nearly up to his ears, causing you to stifle and frown, drawing closer to him.

“What do you mean, _you guess_?”

“I really don’t want to go back out in the woods.”

“Oh come on, big brother o’ mine!” Greg laughed, placing his tiny palms on his side triumphantly. “We’ll get through the woods and back home!”

“Yes, but… I’m worried.” Wirt glanced away from the two of you, rubbing his neck nervously.

“You’re scared.” You corrected him, and he flushed a light pink. “Look, I get it. Don’t worry about the woods, I’m sure we’ll find a town eventually. If we’re lucky, someone has a phone.”

“I don’t know, when I asked about a phone, the woodsman seemed kind of lost. It seems like we went back in time or something.”

“That’s ridiculous. He’s one of those creepy guys who live out in the woods with hardly any electricity or plumbing. You know the type.” You said, holding Greg up on your back as a piggyback ride. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy as you walked down the stairs with a bounce in your step, and you saw the woodsman in his living room, dozing off. You thought about sneaking out of his house unnoticed, but he perked up almost immediately when you hit the final step, the one that squeaked obnoxiously. You exhaled dramatically as he hopped to his feet, towering ominously above all three of you.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, his voice husky and layered with exhaustion.

“To a town.” You crossed your arms. “To see if someone can get us home.”

“That’s no good.” The woodsman argued, shaking his head. “The beast is still out there.”

“Well, what is good that it’s daylight, so we’ll be able to see better. Thanks for the hospitality, but we have to go.” You clenched your fists around Greg’s legs. You didn’t want to add it on, but you thought the whole beast business was just bogus. The woodsman stared at the fire now and you rolled your eyes. “Come on, guys.”

Without hesitation, you open the front door and briskly walk out. With Wirt behind you and Greg playing with your red hood on your back, you all set off across the river and into the woods. Now that it wasn’t night, you felt a lot more comfortable traveling through the forest. Not to mention, you had two others to help you rid of your lonesomeness.

“So, where to?” You smiled up at Greg. He returned the gesture.

“Onwards, steed!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Greg, it’s not nice to call her a steed.” Wirt warned.

“I don’t mind, Wirt.” You glanced over at him. “Just gotta make the trip fun for the little one.”

“I suppose…”

“Help!” Cried a small voice. You all three turned around to face a nearby bush. Greg hopped off of your back and ran to the source of the noise. Confused, you and Wirt followed on after him.

“Greg, slow down!” Wirt said as he ran. “Why must you chase after every noise you hear?”

“He’s a kid.” You said, finally slowing down beside him. He parted the bushes and exposed a small bluebird tangled up in the brandle of the bush. You watched her pained expression dart on all three of you.

“Hey, get me out of here!”

“It talks!” Wirt fell back. You weren’t as surprised but still a little shocked to see the bluebird chirp sharp words at you. Greg tried to shove his pudgy hands into the bramble and untangle her but she twittered in pain.

“Hey, no, okay, hold on.” You said, pulling Greg back. You then whipped out your pocket knife and began to saw carefully at the bramble. Once enough of them snapped in half, the bird flew out and floated above all of you.

“Thank you,” she sighed. “A wind carried me into that bush.”

“You can talk.” Wirt said obviously, pointing in fear.

“Yes?” She tilted her head.

“Considering all of the things we’ve already been through, I think a talking bird is the least of our concerns.” You said to Wirt, who just simply looked astounded. The bluebird looked down at all of you.

“Since you saved me, you’ll get a favor from me.” She breathed.

“Woah, a wish?” Greg said in excitement.

“No, not a wish. A favor.”

“That’s great and all,” You started, “but I don’t know that there’s much a bird can do.”

“You three are lost, right? I heard you talking overhead earlier.” She chirped, eyeing all of you closely. “I can help you get back to where you came from!”

You looked to Wirt, frowning and shaking your head. You had your doubts about a bird being able to help you get home, but Greg cheered and derailed your train of thought, agreeing immediately. She introduced herself as Beatrice and perched atop his kettle as Greg led the way through the woods. Sighing, you and Wirt lingered a bit behind.

“So, how much are you willing to bet she’s going to get us absolutely nowhere?” You asked Wirt. He didn’t look at you, simply watching his younger brother wander side to side with the new addition to the crew.

“I-I don’t trust her.” He stammered, blinking, then finally glancing at you. “Do you feel the same way? Maybe I’m overthinking.”

“Definitely overthinking. Sounds like you need a visit from Mary Jane.”

“You know I don’t smoke.” He dismissed. “Bad for your lungs.”

“You did it once.” You laughed, elbowing him. He turned red with embarrassment, rubbing his arm where you had roughly elbowed him. “Remember that? It was eighth grade and you wanted to see if it was the type of thing to impress Sara with, so you tried it and ended up coughing for ten minutes.”

“Don’t tell Greg that story.” Wirt wasn’t smiling, which made your own confidence falter. “Also, you can’t smoke around him either.”

“I already swore to you I wouldn’t.” You tenderly responded, your eyes now glancing at Greg as he fervently spoke with Beatrice. “Besides, how am I going to get any? We’re smack dab in the middle of nowhere.”

“And possibly two hundred years back in time.”

“I told you, time travel isn’t real. Look, we’ll find a city soon and then be able to contact our parents.” You sighed, trying to comfort him.

“I don’t think woodsmen just exist around the area, Y/N.” Wirt turned to you, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Something weird is going on and you know that.”

“Maybe. Or maybe we just got carried by the river. My phone doesn’t have any service but it says it’s still 2014.” You whipped it out, showing him your mobile phone. The date reported it was still Halloween and the time was frozen at 11:59 PM.

“Um,” Wirt pointed to it. “Are… are you sure you looked at it? Why does it say that?”

“I ‘unno?” You shrugged, placing it neatly back into your pocket where it clinked against your knife and lighter. “The river probably screwed it all up. It’s 2014, Wirt.”

“More like 1814.”

“Agree to disagree.” You rolled your eyes, finally catching up with Greg and speaking to him and Beatrice. It’s not like you didn’t want to walk solely with Wirt, more like you were stubborn and knew the argument wouldn’t go anywhere with him.

“So, where are we headed, Beatrice?” You asked the little bird, who glanced at you.

“There’s a woman named Adelaide of the Pasture. She’ll be able to take you back home.”

“Um, are you sure we can’t just go to a city and call someone?” You asked her timidly. “What’s with this eerie Wizard of Oz bullhockey?”

“What?” Beatrice asked, equally as confused. “Call? Wizard of what? I said Adelaide of the Pasture.”

Wirt walked past you, whispering in your ear, “1814!”

“Can it, Wirt.” You scolded, looking back at Beatrice as Wirt walked on the other side of Greg. “So this Adelaide is going to help us get back home?”

“Exactly. Now, if you’ll just--” She began, but Wirt suddenly exclaimed something, causing you all to stop immediately and watch as he jogged over to a sign stuck in the side of the dirt road.

“Look! A town sign! It says Pottsfield is just up ahead!” Wirt pointed to the path you all had been walking on.

“Finally, a town.” You sighed, smiling a little with satisfaction.

“No, no.” Beatrice suddenly flew, hovering above all three of you. “We need to get to Adelaide--”

“A magical talking bird… leading us to a fairy god mother… sorry, I’m going to Pottsfield. We’ll surely find someone there to help.” Wirt shook his head, contiuing on the path. Beatrice looked at you as Greg followed his brother and you shrugged. She landed on your shoulder, sighing.

“Boys are so stupid.” Beatrice simply said.

“Aren’t they? But seriously, what did you expect? Wirt kind of has a point.”

“Okay, maybe, but still, Adelaide is the only one who can really help you guys. I doubt this Pottsfield has what you’re looking for.”

“Let’s put Adelaide on hold right now.” You said to her. “If Pottsfield is fruitless like you say it will be, then we’ll go with your plan. Sound good?”

She shrugged with her tiny wings and nestled inside your hood that was propped up on top of your head. “Let’s just ditch them.”

“Sorry, no can do. I got grounded because of their dumb asses, I’m not leaving them alone for a second.” You said, crossing yours arms. Beatrice let out a long sigh and shut her eyes while you three walked on the path back to civilization. You lot had probably jogged for a mile until you walked out onto farmland where pumpkins grew here and there. Greg had stepped into one and so had Wirt, but the older brother had enough sense to simply kick it off his leg and keep on going. The town just up ahead seemed abandoned and old, causing it to appear eerie and mysterious.

“Okay… are we on a movie set?” You asked timidly, but nobody replied. Wirt called out for help and had found not a single soul in sight. You began to lose hope that maybe it was actually left behind until you heard distant singing. Greg was the one to point it out.

“Do you hear that? It has to be people!” Wirt excitedly said before hauling ass toward the barn on the far side of town. The three of you kept up behind him and as he leaned in to peek inside the barn, all of you froze.

People in pumpkin costumes wandered back and forth, dancing side to side and laughing and drinking through their costumes. You made a horrified expression just watching them and Beatrice frowned.

“Maybe they’re not that bad?” Wirt suggested, his nervous gaze glancing back at the three of you.

“Um, Wirt, s’cuse my potty mouth.” You cleared your throat whispering, “What kind of fucking drugs are you on? Are you seeing the same shit I am?” You took his shoulder, gripping tightly. “No way in hell. We are not going in there. Greg, cover your ears. I’d rather be a pussy and die in the woods than be sacrificed to some pumpkin cult.”

Greg kept smiling despite your language. Wirt was used to you cussing like a sailor, but Beatrice eyed you down. It was obvious she hadn’t heard that kind of language come from a girl before. You took Wirt’s wrist and dragged him away from the barn doors, trying to lead him away. The path out of Pottsfield was a bit ways away and the three of you collectively decided to raid an empty house while the strange cult people were dancing in the barn.

Sifting through a house, you had everyone split up in the house to go searching for their own things. You managed to get an old leather backpack and so you piled in old canned foods and different crops that had been recently harvested. You saw Wirt appear in the kitchen beside you.

“This-- This is wrong.” He stammered, looking anxiously around.

“Yes, but we’ll starve to death out there in the woods. And look!” You pulled out an old lantern. “This old baby should work well. I have a lighter.”

“You’re going to light that thing with a lighter? Aren’t you going to burn yourself?”

“Did you forget I smoke weed?” You asked, about to turn and look at him as you stuffed the lamp into your backpack. Then, grabbing a crystalline glass, you examined it.

“Hey! Who are you?” Demanded a voice at the door. You dropped the glass and whirled around, looking at the man in the pumpkin costume standing at the door threateningly.

“Shit, scatter!” You said to Greg and Beatrice, who were just now coming down the stairs. Greg jogged back up the stairs and you took Wirt’s hand, racing out the back door. You had to keep running for what seemed like your life and you tugged him into the woods, taking turns and twists farther from Pottsfield.

Finally, after a five-minute sprint into the woods, you stopped and nearly fell down. Hunching over and placing your palms firmly on your knees, you were gasping for air and Wirt had collapsed on a nearby log.

“That was bad.” He finally breathed.

“Yeah, really?” You sighed, pushing your hair out of your face. When you looked around the autumn-colored woods, all you knew was one thing: you were lost, all alone in the woods with your crush.


End file.
